Soybean flaking machine



Dec. 29, 1942. H. TRUAX 2,306,655

SOY BEAN FLAKING MACHINE Filed Oct. l2, 1959 INVENTOR. @ff/y fwzz,

A TTORNEYS.

flaw,

Patented Dec. 29, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOYBEAN FLAKING MACHINE Harry Truax, Indianapolis, Ind. Application October 12, 1939, Serial No. 299,071

2 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in flaking machines and more specically to the type of machine commonly used in pulverizing or laking soy beans. Machines of this nature have, heretofore, been rather large and complicated in mechanism resulting in considerable expenditure in the manufacture of such machines.

It is an object of my invention to provide a aking machine that can be manufactured at a relatively low cost. A further object of my invention is to provide a flaking machine considerably smaller in size than those used at the present time and a machine sufr'lciently simple in operation that the average farmer can successfully operate it. It is, of course, understood that my present invention can be successfully used for the aking of produce other than soy beans.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one embodiment of my invention. However, the speciflc construction of my machine can be varied without overstepping the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side longitudinal section of my flaking machine;

Fig. 2 a plan view on a smaller scale; and

Fig. 3 a side elevation of the machine.

In the drawing I indicates a base mounting of my machine. Mounted on said base, and spaced apart, are bearing mountings 2-2 in which is journalled a shaft 3. A pressure roll 4 is mounted on shaft 3 and is. in turn, surrounded by a somewhat larger and loosely mounted sleeve 5. A second cooperating roll 6 is mounted in bearing blocks 'I-'I parallel to roll Said blocks 1-`I are adjustably held, by springs 8-8 and adjusting screws 9 9, to hold roll 6 against the outer periphery of sleeve 5 thereby forming a narrow throat II) through which the material to be aked must pass. A casing II encloses the pressure rolls and is provided with an intake opening I2 which is connected through a funnel I3 with a suitable supply of soy beans. A plate I4 is mounted adjacent the intake opening to insure proper feeding of the material through the throat I0. In order to prevent the flaked material from adhering to the surfaces of roll 4 and 5, I provide spring biased stripper fingers I5 and I 6 mounted on a rod supported in the side walls of casing II and extending between the outer face of roll 4 and the inner face of sleeve 5 to cooperate with said roll and sleeve to remove all particles of `material adhering thereto. A small spring-mounted roll II may be provided within the casing II to retain sleeve 55 5 in its proper relationship with plate I4 thereby preventing any beans from jumping over said plate and clogging the space above the stripper fingers. Any suitable means may be provided for the discharge of 'aked material from the sleeve 5 such as a conveyor, not shown, or by slightly inclining the axes of rolls Il and 6 to provide a gravity discharge through a suitable opening I2' in the side of the casing II.

A driving train, indicated generally at I8, is driven from a suitable source of power such as motor I9. The action of train I8 is to rotate pressure roll 6 in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, while roll Il has a clockwise rotation. It is obvious that the opposite rotation of rolls 4 and 6 contacting sleeve 5 will result in a clockwise rotation of said sleeve thereby aiding the feeding of the beans through the throat I0, the size of whichmay readily be adjusted through springs 8 and screws 9 to provide proper pressure for aking, depending on the produce being fed into the machine.

The above-described machine is particularly applicable for use in aking soy beans preparatory to passing said beans through the process of extracting the oil therefrom with solvent or by any other suitable means.

As the result of the structure heretofore described, I am enabled to construct a machine which may be extremely small in dimensions and simple to operate. I have found by experience that by the structure described, I am enabled 4to use rolls which need not exceed six inches in diameter, and that, even with the use of rolls of small diameter, it is not necessary to, prior to feeding the soy beans into the flaking machine, cutting or macerating the beans so that.

they will pass through the rolls.

In certain types of apparatus heretofore used for aking or crushing soy beans, the use of extremely large rolls, twenty inches or more in diameter, has been found necessary and up until the development of my machine, so far as I am aware, it has not been feasible to crush or ake soy beans in a machine using rolls smaller than twenty inches in diameter.

As a result of the above construction, I am enabled to materially simplify and cheapen the production of soy bean meal and oil.

Furthermore, it will be noted, from the above description, that it is unnecessary to provide any substantial supporting mechanism for the sleeve 5. Due t0 the fact that this sleeve is pressed against the roll 4 at the tangential juxtaposition point of the rolls 6 and 4, the pressure exerted upon 'the sleeve at this point vvill maintain the Y movable roll for resiliently biasing the movable roll toward the other with sufficient pressure to flake the beans without disintegrating the same and a sleeve of greater diameter than and surrounding said roll with the fixed axis of rotation and engaged by the other roll at said tangential juxtaposition point and movable relatively to said iixed axis roll and with said movable roll. said sleeve and rolls moving in a direction to feed the beans from top to bottom.

2. In a soy bean flaking machine, in combina-A tion, a base, a pair of fixed bearings mounted on said base, a shaft mounted'in said bearings and a crusher roll mounted on said shaft, a second pair of bearings mounted on said base, independent spring means for biasing each of said bearings toward said stationary bearings, a shaft operating in said bearings, a crusher roll mounted on said shaft and biased by said spring means into engaging relation with said first-mentioned roll with sufficient force' to flake the beans without disintegrating the same. said shafts being substantially in the same horizontal plane, a sleeve of greater diameter than said rst-mentioned roll and surrounding said roll and engaged by said second-mentioned roll at the tangential juxtaposition point of the two rolls, said sleeve being of the same longitudinal extent as the firstmentioned roll and movable with the secondmentioned roll relatively to the first-mentioned roll, and means for independently adjusting the tension of each of said spring means.

HARRY TRUAX. 

